Prep time 20 min (excluding marination) cook time 10 min
My wife and I visited the island in 2016 and were taken by how with a few ingredients, one can create delicious tasting dishes. This is such a dish which we had at a recent lunch hosted by a Sicilian friend in Washington DC.
It is a simple pasta dish topped with fire roasted red peppers that have been marinated in oil and garlic cooked together with couple of canned anchovy filets.
Now before you cry in horror at the thought of adding canned anchovies to any dish, please think again. Once stirred in a little hot oil, canned anchovies loose their fishy taste and rapidly dissolve into a rich ingredient that gives any sauce a deep umami flavor. Similar to the heady taste and aroma of a grated Truffle. You will soon fall for the taste and their versatility.
The dish is a welcome change to pasta served with variations of a tomato or cream sauce.
Sicilian Pasta With Flame Seared Red Peppers.
by
Derek Farwagi
Ingredients
- 2 red peppers
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 Filets of anchovies ( or 2 tsp paste)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Pasta for two
Instructions
- Cook each red peppers over a gas flame for about 8 minutes. If you do not have a gas range you can roast the peppers in a 475 degrees for 40 minutes, until soft and nicely charred.
- Peppers are ready when they are soft and nearly completely black.
- Allow to cool.
- When cool enough to handle - about 10 minutes, cut peppers in half, remove stem and peel off burnt skin by scraping off with a small knife. Remove small bits of peel with a kitchen towel. Set aside
- On a medium flame, heat a quarter cup of oil. Add 2 anchovy filets or two teaspoon of anchovy paste. Remove from heat and mash filets until they have completely dissolved. Add Finley chopped garlic and let cook over flame for about a minute, stirring frequently - avoid burning garlic. Set aside.
- Lay pepper halves flat on a board and cut into 1/2 inch strips. Put in a small plastic container or bowl. Add seasoned oil to pepper strips, cover and marinate for at least 4 hours in fridge.
- Prep and cook pasta.
- Serve pasta and cover with marinade and pepper strips.
- Serve with grated Parmesan and black pepper.
Bob Stone
When you roast peppers on the grill or in the broiler keep them intact in a covered container until they cool then pierce the bottoms so their juice runs into the container.. After cleaning them strain the juice over them and prepare as instructed. A splash of lemon juice doesn’t hurt.
Derek Farwagi
Thanks for that suggestion.